Politics
FCT elections: APC vows to capture FCT Area Councils
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The All Progressives Congress is poised to wrest control of all six Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area councils from the opposition, the party’s National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, has declared.
Yilwatda made the announcement on Friday during the inauguration of a 138-member National Campaign Council for the FCT Area Council elections at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja.
He instructed the committee, led by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, to mobilise support and deploy strategies aimed at securing all six chairmanship positions and 62 councillors seats in the polls scheduled for Saturday, February 21, 2026.
The chairman further urged the campaign team to capitalise on the growing influx of prominent political figures joining the party daily, emphasising that their involvement would strengthen the APC’s chances of victory across the FCT.
“With the calibre of people coming into the party on a daily basis, I will advise the committee to mobilize and put in place a strategy to claim the FCT. Those who worked against the party are now with us, and we should be able to leverage that to win the next Saturday election in the FCT.
“We must ensure we win the 6 Area councils and 62 councillorship seats,” the Chairman directed the committee.
The chairman added that the campaign council will focus on two major objectives — aggressive mobilisation of voters and deployment of well-articulated strategies to secure victory on Election Day.
He explained that the composition of the campaign council reflects Nigeria’s geopolitical diversity, noting that Abuja is home to residents from all parts of the country.
He stated that leaders from the South-South, South-East, North-Central, North-East, and North-West have been strategically assigned to mobilise residents from their respective regions who reside in the FCT.
“The FCT belongs to all Nigerians. If we execute our strategies effectively and work as one united party, victory is assured,” he said.
Addressing newsmen after the inauguration, the National Chairman dispelled the claim that only opposition parties are on the campaign trail, with major opposition leaders leading.
Responding to the allegation, Yilwatda said, “Who told you they were not campaigning? The campaign is done at the grassroots, among our people, across all tribes of Nigeria. It’s not selective. We have our governors who have been coming to town.
“They are from the South-South, South-East, North-Central, and North-West, representing all regions of the country. We have governors from all these regions, and all of them have been reaching out to the people in their own way, going to the communities, and they have dispatched leadership within those groups and tribes.
“So, we are mobilizing more than any other political party in Nigeria. We are confident we will win the election,” Yilwatda boasted.
Assuring the party of delivery, the campaign committee Chairman and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, said his council would not disappoint the party leadership for the trust and confidence reposted on the committee.
AbdulRazaq then called on party members in the FCT to team up together for the victory of the party.
In his remarks, the Secretary of the Council and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu said the committee “will bring the energy of the young minds, the innovative mindedness of the young people to push the agenda to the grassroots.
“We will be on the streets. We will be in every household. We will go door to door, business to business, to sell the message of APC.
“It will no longer be mentioned that APC lost the election in Abuja. That was in the past. We are about to rewrite history. My people that I love so much, the people, my Igbo people that I love and who loves me will not allow me to be ashamed knowing fully well that I’m at the helm of affairs to make sure that the bulk vote of the Igbo communities in Abuja that we harvest them for the greatest party within the black race that is called the APC.”
Earlier, the Deputy National Organizing Secretary, Nze Chidi Duru, said the campaign council was enlarged from 137 to 138 to accommodate the former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
In a rare political development that has sent shockwaves through Sokoto State, the Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area, Isa Kalanjeni, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and simultaneously stepped down from his elected position as council chairman.
The twin resignations were contained in two separate letters made available to journalists in Sokoto on Tuesday.
In a letter dated May 5, 2026, addressed to the APC Ward Chairman of Kalanjeni Ward in Tangaza Local Government, Kalanjeni announced his immediate departure from the ruling party.
I wish to formally inform you of my decision to resign from the APC with immediate effect. This decision is borne out of purely personal reasons. I appreciate the opportunity given to me to be part of the party.”
Resignation from Office
In a separate letter dated July 7, 2026, addressed to the Secretary to the Sokoto State Government and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Kalanjeni formally resigned as Executive Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area with immediate effect.
Please accept this letter as formal notification that I am resigning from my position as Executive Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area, effective immediately from today.”
Reasons Cited
The embattled chairman explained that the “difficult decision” followed extensive consultations with family, political associates, and community stakeholders.
He also cited administrative constraints, stating:
“Due to recent unavoidable administrative challenges, I find that I am no longer able to execute the responsibilities of this office to the high standard expected of me.”
Despite the abrupt exit, Kalanjeni expressed appreciation to the people of the council:
“I am incredibly grateful to the electorate, the council’s legislative arm, and the entire staff for the privilege and opportunity to serve our people. I wish the incoming leadership and administration continued success.”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) says it is on course to meet the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) July 11 deadline for the submission of its presidential and National Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections.
A senior member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the upload of candidates’ details was at an advanced stage, with the details of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate expected to be uploaded by the middle of the week.
“We are progressing smoothly with the uploading of the details of our National Assembly candidates,” the source said.
“We hope that on or before next Wednesday, we shall upload the details of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate. We are completely sure of meeting the July 11 deadline for uploading all our candidates on the INEC portal.”
Checks at the APC’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) department at the Muhammadu Buhari House headquarters in Abuja on Sunday indicated that the party’s technical team has continued to interface with the INEC portal without disruption.
Sources in the department said the details of most principal officers of the 10th National Assembly and several serving lawmakers had already been uploaded.
They added that the details of four serving governors — AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State — had also been uploaded to the INEC portal.
The race to meet the deadline followed a review of the party’s primary elections. The APC recently submitted a revised list of candidates to INEC after the NWC removed six senatorial and 19 House of Representatives candidates who had earlier emerged from the party’s May primaries.
The changes affected constituencies in Abia, Kogi, Taraba, Benue, Ebonyi, Ondo, Kaduna, Niger and Kwara states and followed the recommendations of the party’s Primary Election Appeal Committee.
The revised list was forwarded to INEC in a letter jointly signed by APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru.
APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the party received more than 700 petitions from aggrieved members after the conclusion of its primaries.
“The party received over 700 petitions from aggrieved members following the conclusion of our shadow elections,” Morka said.
He declined to state when the final list of candidates would be released publicly, saying the party’s immediate focus was to ensure compliance with INEC’s nomination requirements.
“Our absolute immediate priority right now is ensuring that our designated candidates properly complete and return their Form EC9 nomination documents for upload ahead of the strict INEC deadline, rather than focusing on the public release of the list,” he said.
Despite the changes made by the appeal committee, the final list submitted to INEC retained many of the party’s leading figures, including four serving governors who secured the party’s tickets to contest Senate seats in the 2027 general elections.
Lawmaker representing the Nasarawa South Senatorial District, Senator Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo, has officially resigned from the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
His resignation was contained in a letter dated July 2, 2026, and addressed to the ADC Ward Chairman in Galadimawa Ward, Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The lawmaker attributed his decision to the party’s lingering internal crisis and protracted legal disputes at the national level.
In the letter sighted on Sunday by our correspondent, Onawo said his resignation takes effect from June 15, 2026.
The lawmaker said the persistent internal wrangling and legal battles within the party made it difficult for him to pursue the developmental mandate entrusted to him by the electorate.
“It is driven by my firm belief that the prevailing circumstances within the current party structure and the endless legal battles it is currently embroiled in no longer provide the cohesion, support, and enabling environment for me to focus squarely on effectively representing my constituents and to fully realise the developmental and progressive mandate they entrusted to me,” he said.
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